The present invention relates to a cup holder. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cup holder that attaches to a piece of furniture.
Cup holders are used to hold cups in a stable and secure position so that the cups are not spilled easily. Cup holders also keep cups away from the working surface of the piece of furniture. This prevents cups from being in the way or knocked off of the table. In addition, placing a cup in a cup holder instead of on a piece of furniture prevents the cup from leaving a wet area on a top surface of the piece of furniture due to the cup "sweating."
What is needed is an improved cup holder that provides a more stable and secure environment for at least one cup and is located in a position less likely to be in the way. It would also be desirable to have a cup holder that is easy to set up and configured to mount on the corner of a folding table.
According to the present invention, a cup holder is provided to attach to a piece of furniture. The cup holder includes a base formed to include spaced-apart side-by-side cup-receiving receptacles, a mounting fixture appended to the base, and spaced-apart furniture-engaging clamps appended to the mounting fixture. The mounting fixture includes a V-shaped channel formed by a V-shaped side wall and a V-shaped flange extending outwardly away from the V-shaped side wall.
Advantageously, the V-shaped channel allows the cup holder to engage two sides of the piece of furniture (e.g., the corner of a table). The placement of the cup holder on the corner of the piece of furniture prevents the cup holder from tipping down. This creates a more stable and secure cup holder. Preferably, the cup holder base and mounting fixture is configured so as to make it easy for a user to mount the cup holder to the corner of a square or rectangular folding card table.
Mounting the cup holder on the corner of a piece of furniture also positions the cups in the cup holder in a stable environment further away from the working surface (e.g. table top) of the piece of furniture. This further decreases the likelihood of cups being in the way or tipped over.
One feature of the cup holder is that each cup-receiving receptacle includes a first cavity and a smaller second cavity within the first cavity. The second cavity supports the cup which leaves extra space in the cup-receiving receptacle for a cup handle and/or miscellaneous items such as playing cards, pens, paper, etc.
In preferred embodiments, the cup holder includes an adjustable furniture-engaging clamp at each end of the mounting fixture. The adjustable furniture-engaging clamps increase the ease of installing and removing the cup holder. Also, the stability of the cup holder is increased because the adjustable clamp is operable to obtain a snug fit between the cupholder and the furniture piece.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.